ballfamily

We're booked on the Celebrity Edge r/t Sydney embarking 6 Nov 24. All the ports are in New Zealand. Is anyone else on this cruise, or does anyone have recommendations for reliable shoe excursion vendors fore the New Zealand ports?  Thanks!

We have used Allianz insurance over the years.  Age 73 & 65.  Used TravelGuard prior to that,  but found that Allianz was more cost-friendly once I hit age 70 🙂

I thought I'd post this update on my question about day-use hotels in Papeete. I found that the (Mariott) Le Meridien offers a day-use room and use off facilities for about USD $200. Following is the email I received about this:

On Sep 10, 2018, at 6:04 PM, Jeanne ALEXANDRE <stagiaire@lemeridien-tahiti.pf> wrote:

Ia Orana Glenn,

Thank you for your e-mail and your interest in our hotel.

I am happy to confirm that we do offer Day Use room available from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm on your requested date, please find the rate below :

• Day Use room (run of the house) : 20 520 xpf including taxes

Should you wish to go ahead with the reservation, please let me know and I will be happy to make the arrangement on your behalf. I will need your credit card details in order to guarantee the reservation. Please fill up the form attached and send it back to me at your earliest convenience

Kindly note that the reservation can be cancelled 4 days prior to your arrival without penalties. If you cancel the reservation 3 days before, 1 night room and tax will be charged to your credit card. In case of no-show or cancellation on arrival date, full stay will be charged.

Please let me know if we may be of any further assistance.

Best regards,

Jeanne ALEXANDRE

Revenue & Reservations Department

T: 689-40-47-07-26 | F: 689-40-47-07-28

S 17° 38’ W 149° 36’

LE MERIDIEN TAHITI

BP 380595 Tamanu, 98718 Punaauia - Polynésie Française

Lemeridien.com/tahiti

Hi Petoonya -- I contacted the Intercontinental yesterday. They replied that they had no "day use or transit" option. The possibility of an Air BNB like you had may also be an option for us. Would you mind sharing contact details - either here or by email? (glenn.ball@comcast.net) Thanks!

Can anyone recommend a day-use hotel in Tahiti, particularly the Papeete area? Looking for suggestions and contact info to continue my research into options for a full day in Tahiti following our cruise. Also, any suggestions about reliable full-day excursions out of Papeete also appreciated. Thanks!

Hallasm & Janetcbl - Thank You both for your responses; I appreciate the info and feedback.

My wife and I are booked on the MS Spitzbergen in early October 2018 for the northbound voyage. We have seen Hurtigruten's shore excursions offerings, and find them to be a bit on the expensive side and to some degree not all that interesting. My question for the group is -- Does anyone know of reputable private companies that offer outings similar to what Hirtigruten offers - particularly in Alesund, Trondheim, Bodo & Tromso? I recognize there are advantages of going thru Hurtigruten for shore ex, but at this point we're looking for other options. Thanks!

We have cruised a number of times, but this is our first time with RSSC. We're on the Navigator, 2/9/16 Miami-Miami. What is the expected attire for men & women in the evenings -- dining rooms, lounges & common areas? Thanks for the feedback!

Wendy: Where are you going with Tauvk in 2016? We just booked Amsterdam-Budapest in Sep 2016

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Cruzin Terri - appreciate your comments about Tauck's Amsterdam-Budapest cruise. My wife and I just reserved this same itinerary for Sep 2016 on the Swiss Jewel. I would be interested in your thoughts (or other's) about extending our time in both Amsterdam & Budapest. Also wondering if you did air thru Tauck or made your own arrangements. Email for a response is: glenn.ball@comcast.net. Thanks!

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I am debating between the morning or afternoon Misty Fjords seaplane tour in Ketchikan. We will be going early August. The morning tour is from 7-9 am and the afternoon tour is 1-3 pm. Does one time have an advantage over the other as far as weather and visibility? Any other factors to consider?

We did the morning flight a couple of years ago - it was awesome. However, it's a long boat ride back from where the plane lands. Just so you are aware....

How do you book a rental car in Skagway? In advance? Which rental companies? Cost?

Nickibear -- We have taken the train & bus in Skagway and this time (May 24 sailing) we will rent a car and drive to Emerald Lake. There are five adults so I rented a mid-size SUV (like a Toyota Highlander, which we happen to own). Rented from Avis. A little spendy for one day - about $190 with unlimited mileage - but we needed the larger vehicle. I imagine compact or otherwise smaller vehicles will be less expensive. If you are even thinking of renting a car I would do so now; I understand the cars go quickly during peak cruising periods. Thru Avis, you can reserve w/o giving them your credit card, and cancel any time if you decide not to do the drive. Hope this helps.

I understand the frustration with the custom air group, but I do suggest patience. I recently had a very positive experience: We are on the March 27 tour from Shanghai. We booked almost a year ago, and used custom air to fly from Seattle. We got the fights and seats we wanted and felt the $100 fee was money well spent. About two months ago, the airline (United) changed part of our return flight from Beijing. Viking stepped in and secured another itinerary for us. We had a non-stop flight Bejing-San Francisco, then on to Seattle. Now we have Bejing-Tokyo, then to Seattle. I would have preferred the original itinerary, but that would have met a 5+ hr layover in SF. This was certainly not the fault of Viking, but when I questioned them about a refund of the custom air fee (because we didn't get what we asked for, originally) they agreed to refund half of it -- $50. This was acceptable and appreciated. So, Viking if you are monitoring this post..... thanks from a satisfied customer. Looking forward to the trip in about two months!

The booklet you receive from Viking before the cruise will list the suggested tipping for ship's personnel. It covers almost every employee on the ship, not just your steward and servers.

 

You can do it in cash (US $ or Chinese Won) or can charge it in a seperate charge from other ship charges.

 

A dollar or two for the tour bus drivers will be appreciated by them.

 

As far as hotel personnel go, China is basically a non-tipping society and the hotel porters do not expect tips although they will not turn down any.

Thanks, Caribill. We haven't received the booklet yet. I appreciate the info.

Re Cultural Delights tour -- my question concerns tipping. I know to plan for about $350/couple (in cash) for the tour escort. What was the total amount of tips you gave (or was expected) at the end of the river cruise for ship's crew, cabin steward & servers? Second, about how much did you tip the bus drivers and hotel porters? We're on the Cultural Delights tour the end of march 2012 and are looking forward to the experience.

BlueDevil75 -- Thanks for the great trip report. We are booked on the same trip starting 3/27/12, Shanghai to Bejing. Given your report, I plan to bring my laptop to access internet in the hotels and in bar areas of ship -- hope I have same luck you did. Thanks for the heads-up on tipping. Sounds kind of steep to me, but suppose its expected like on the larger ships. Just wondering if you found some really good deals on particular souvenirs that we should watch out for? Thanks agin for all the info....